I score real DTC popups. You get the fixes — no discount required. Every Tuesday, I break down a real DTC tech accessory brand's popup — scored against a 7-category, 86-point framework, with specific fixes you can hand straight to your dev team. 30+ brands audited so far. Same five mistakes, almost every time.
Are exit popups even worth it?
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Exit popups have a reputation problem. Most of them are desperate. “Wait! Don’t go! Here’s 15% off!” — fired the moment your cursor drifts toward the browser tab. It feels like a guilt trip from a brand you just met. So founders ask me: are exit popups even worth it? The honest answer: it depends entirely on what your popup is doing when it fires. A last-ditch discount is a bet that the only thing standing between a visitor and a purchase is price. For most visitors, that’s not the problem. They’re leaving because they’re not sure yet. They have questions they haven’t asked. They need more information, not a coupon. An educational exit popup gives them something useful right at the moment they’re about to disappear.
That’s a reason to hand over an email address — not because you bribed them, but because you gave them something worth coming back for. The difference in outcomes between those two approaches is significant. I put together a free scorecard that helps you figure out which category your exit popup falls into. It’s called The Exit Intent Popup Scorecard. Eight criteria, each worth 0–2 points, with a total score out of 16. You’ll know exactly where your exit popup is losing subscribers — and what to fix first. Score your exit popup →Free. No opt-in required. Until next time, see ya! Gannon P.S. The scorecard covers exit intent specifically. The free 15-Minute Popup Audit Kit covers your entire popup strategy — 86 points across 7 categories, including timing, offer, copy, design, and mobile. Grab the full Audit Kit → |
DTC Popup Fixes
I score real DTC popups. You get the fixes — no discount required. Every Tuesday, I break down a real DTC tech accessory brand's popup — scored against a 7-category, 86-point framework, with specific fixes you can hand straight to your dev team. 30+ brands audited so far. Same five mistakes, almost every time.
Most brands that say education doesn't convert have never actually run the test. They looked at a discount popup's opt-in rate, imagined what an educational one might do, and decided against it. That's not data. That's an ill-informed guesstimate. This week I want to break down the 3 most common mistakes brands make when they rule out education without ever testing it: Comparing warm traffic to cold traffic and calling it a fair fight Judging the test after one send instead of one full sales...
I've got a Skylight Calendar mounted by my fridge, syncing five different iCloud calendars into one screen my whole family checks every day. So when their popup only scored 46 out of 86 — a 53% — one weak spot surprised me most. Nordberg Family Skylight Calendar Today, you get the 46/86 score, the 3 categories costing Skylight the most subscribers, and the fixed popup I'd ship instead. If you want to run your popup through the same 7 categories, you can get your popup's real score for free....
Your subscriber count is the least useful number in your email dashboard. Most DTC founders chase list size because it feels like progress. A bigger number looks better in a board deck. But list size and revenue don’t move together the way founders assume they do. A popup promises 10% off, the list grows quickly, and six months later opens are down, redemptions only happen on discount codes, and the “growth” cost real margin on every single email send. Somewhere between 10 and 30 percent of...